Going beyond annual banquets to recognize senior volunteers
Abstract
Annual recognition banquets and award items such as pins and certificates may not be an effective reward for all volunteers. Knowing other ways to reward volunteers is an important part of program management. Understanding the various motivations of volunteers can result in using different and perhaps more appropriate and effective methods of recognition. Compiled from ideas shared on the National Senior Service Corps e-mail discussion list (NSSCTalk) from February 2000 to April 2002 as well as from the booklet, Beyond Banquets, Plaques and Pins: Creative Ways to Recognize Volunteers, by Sue Vineyard.Issue
Senior Corps directors report varying degrees of attendance at recognition events, such as annual awards banquets.Action
Organizations may want to take a fresh look at how they reward their volunteers. Knowing other ways to reward volunteers is an important part of program management. Consider the assumptions behind the traditional methods of recognition used and evaluate whether these methods meet the wants, needs, and values of the current volunteers. Effective practices include:
Methods excerpted from Beyond Banquets, Plaques and Pins: Creative Ways to Recognize Volunteers, by Sue Vineyard.
- Avoid assumptions and stereotypes.
- Understand first who your volunteers are and why they volunteer.
- Don't assume that the same reward will be appropriate for all volunteers.
- Understand that motivation has various forms and that some people are motivated by affiliation, others by achievement, and others by power. Tailor rewards for each person with this motivation in mind.
- Realize that people define recognition as that which recognizes and responds to their needs.
Methods compiled from the NSSCTalk listserv from February 2000 to April 2002 for RSVP, Senior Companion Programs (SCP) and Foster Grandparents Programs (FGP).
Relate Recognition to Motivation
Ask volunteers when they enroll what they hope to receive from volunteering. The answer may include career advancement, social interaction, belief in a particular organization mission, the reward of providing service, building friendships, or being part of the larger community. The volunteers' answers can help direct how they are rewarded for their service. Perhaps a plaque at their place of service, a scholarship in their names, or a story in the local newspaper about the volunteers may provide recognition in a more appropriate way than an event. (Shared by Claudia Moorad, SPS OR, CMoorad@cns.gov)
Provide Recognition at Volunteer Stations
- Take digital photos of Foster Grandparents at each site and have them nicely framed (with donated frames) with the caption: "Heroes Serve Here" above the picture of the grandparents. Display them prominently at the site. (This idea was used in conjunction with the annual recognition theme, "Foster Grandparents: Everyday American Heroes.") Shared by Carla Kelley, Foster Grandparents of South East Idaho, Inc., Blackfoot, ID, carla@fgpsei.com.
- Deliver a card to each RSVP member at the volunteer station where they volunteer, just before Thanksgiving. The cards (which can be purchased blank and personalized on a computer) express thanks for volunteering and include a U.S. flag pin. The group sharing this idea says feedback was tremendous. Volunteers loved getting the flag pin and being recognized as a RSVP member at their volunteer site. This approach elicited more positive comments than all the recognition parties in the previous months. Cost was about $1.10 per volunteer. (Shared by Susie Reehl, WestArk RSVP, Fort Smith, Arkansas, reehl_rsvp@juno.com)
Provide Mementos
Have a professional photographer (who donates his/her services) go to the site of each Foster Grandparent celebrating 10 years of service and photograph them "in action" with the children they volunteer with. Put the photos in a special album, perhaps the kind with a metal frame on the front to hold a special photo. These become treasured keepsakes for the volunteers. (Shared by Linda Angel, lra@propeople.org)
Write Thank You's
Send an individual "thank you" to each volunteer, whether they attend the annual formal recognition event or not. (Shared by Lorene Ellerhoff, RSVP Des Moines County, Burlington, Iowa, ellerhoffl@burlington.dst.ia.us)
Ongoing Recognition
Run a "Companions of the Month" column in your program newsletter, spotlighting four companions each issue. Interview different people every month, for a total of 48 per year. This way each companion gets to be in the newsletter every couple of years. Ask about their special interests, a person they admire, the proudest time in their life, their strengths and weaknesses, and something they've done that their client(s) really appreciated. This is a good way to generate interest in the newsletter and for volunteers to learn about each other. (Shared by Julie Preis, SCP/Philadelphia, JPREIS@pcaphl.org)
Birthday Cards/Get Well Cards
One program has its advisory council mail birthday cards and get well cards to the Senior Companions. The council donates the cards and stamps, and the program director supplies a list of names and addresses for the month. The advisory council also donates small items for a "Birthday Box" at monthly in-services. (Shared by Julie Preis, SCP/Philadelphia, JPREIS@pcaphl.org)
Context
Recognition events are typically held to honor Senior Corps volunteers, including RSVP, Senior Companion, and Foster Grandparents Programs.Citation
Vineyard, Sue. Beyond Banquets, Plaques & Pins: Creative Ways to Recognize Volunteers. Downers Grove, IL: Heritage Arts Publishing, 1989. Provides background on what motivates volunteers. Provides over 300 practical ways to reward volunteers.Outcome
Senior Corps members who provided these ideas to the NSSCTalk e-mail discussion list reported satisfaction from volunteers who used these approaches and ideas.Posted On
May 8, 2002Resources
From The Resource Center library:
Beyond Banquets, Plaques & Pins: Creative Ways to Recognize Volunteers
Item number: R0886
NSSCTalk is an e-mail discussion group, created primarily for the participants in Senior Corps, a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service. Anyone with related concerns, however, is invited to join in. To subscribe by e-mail, send a blank message to join-nssctalk@lists.etr.org
Or subscribe via the Lyris Listmanager web page at http://lists.etr.org/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=nssctalk/.